Sports briefs

■Tennis

Top seeds tumble

James Blake capped a bad day for seeds at the Hall of Fame Championships when he was eliminated by Gregory Carraz on Tuesday. Blake, the top seed and last year's runner-up, lost 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4 as five seeds fell, four of them on court. "He was going for it," Blake said of Carraz. "He had nothing to lose and played looser. He was the looser one. He definitely had nothing to lose because he was expected to lose." Defending champion Taylor Dent, the No. 2 seed, withdrew earlier in the day because of a pinched nerve in his right hand. No. 3 Mardy Fish, lost 7-6 (3), 7-5 to Dusan Vemic, a qualifier from Serbia-Montenegro.

■ Boxing

Candid Tyson bares soul

Mike Tyson says he has lost his soul as a human being and hates himself. "Maybe in my next life, I'll have a better life," Tyson said in an interview for Fox Sports Net's <> to be broadcast July 16. "And that's why I'm just looking forward to go to the other world. `Cause I really hate the way I live now. And I hate my life now." Tyson's former wife, actress Robin Givens, also talks about being abused by the boxer. According to transcripts of the show, Givens says Tyson would choke and kick her, often causing her to vomit. He would then begin to cry while she consoled him. "It just started getting dangerous," Givens said.

■ Hockey

Lyashenko confirmed dead

The manager of the Turkish hotel where Roman Lyashenko, a member of the New York Rangers' organization, was found dead on Sunday, on Tuesday confirmed a report by a law-enforcement official that the hockey player had committed suicide. Bozkurt Atilla, the general manager of the Club Letonya Hotel in the resort town of Antayla, said that he had been summoned to Lyashenko's room on Sunday morning after his body was discovered by Lyashenko's sister. Lyashenko was found hanging by his belt in the bathtub.

■ Baseball

Boy burned by firework

An 8-year-old boy watching the Oakland Athletics' game against Tampa Bay on Tuesday suffered burns on one of his legs when another fan tossed an explosive device from the upper deck of the Coliseum. The boy was taken to a local hospital for treatment. No further information was immediately available. A suspect was in police custody after the incident in the bottom of the third inning, the Athletics said. The device, commonly known as a cherry bomb, made a loud boom as it fell from the third deck to the first tier of bleachers in left field. Players turned to look, causing a short delay.

■ Soccer

Eriksson denies move

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson on Tuesday dismissed suggestions that he is after the job at Chelsea. The Swede admitted that he had met new Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and his agent, Pini Zahavi, in London but the insisted the reason was purely a social one. "I can confirm that last week I met with Pini Zahavi and the new owner of Chelsea Football Club -- Roman Abramovich," Eriksson told the Football Association Web site. "Due to the intense media profile given to Mr. Abramovich's involvement with Chelsea, I accept that this meeting may create unfortunate speculation," Eriksson said. "Therefore, I would like to once again categorically reaffirm my total commitment to my role as England head coach."